Can a ballet lover help me out?

[EllenLRipley]

I want to take DNiece to a ballet at the Royal Opera House for her Xmas gift. I took DD to see Sleeping Beauty when she was 12 and it was magical. Would Cinderella or Hansel and Gretel be better do you think? Both are on this year so we are spoiled for choice!
Thank you so much

Cinderella would be my suggestion. Hansrl and Gretel can be quite dark and less visually appealing.

Definitely Cinderella. I’m looking forward to seeing it myself, a lovely Christmas treat.

Double check, but I'm pretty certain that the Christmas H&G is the opera (Humperdinck).

I might go myself with DD(17) - but she has been to a few operas.

Oh goodness I will!

@Madcats well thank goodness for you!
This uncultured idiot was confused!
Thanks so so much, I am booking now - what a TREAT!

@Madcats would you mind telling me what the experience of an opera is? I grew up never ever being taken to the theatre etc and have tried most things with my DC - plays, musicals, ballet, other dance, spoken word, all sorts! But Opera scares me! the length and I feel I am not intelligent enough or "posh" enough which is not like me at all! How do you find it?

Hansel & Gretel is definitely the opera! Cinderella is the Christmas ballet for this year; they usually do the Nutcracker but are resting it this year. The Cinderella was a new production last season and was very enjoyable - very high quality production.

I have tickets for Cinderella! I am so excited, I'll be more excited than her tbh 😂

thanks so much everyone!

If you do want to go to the opera one day, and if you've got any liking for classical music I recommend you do, the English National Opera does most of their performances in English. That makes it a lot easier to understand what's going on and who's who. Saying that the storylines tend not to be particularly complicated.

If you want to try opera, ROH and the Met do live screenings in cinemas which are really enjoyable - and cheaper! Would recommend Marriage of Figaro as a good starter opera!! https://www.rbo.org.uk/about/cinema-2425

I think I might go and see Hansel and Gretel with DD - been reading about it!

I am just not sure about the length!

They might have been snapped up, but there are usually some super-cheap standing seats (think sub £20) close to the stage on the balcony. I quite like them, because I don't mind missing out on 1/3 of the stage if I can overlook the orchestra pit. I seem to remember that there are just two rows of seats and standing close to the stage so it is easy to sneak out if your get bored.

I'm dragging DD along this summer, who has only been to ROH on a music school trip, up in the gods (I think their might be some cheap seats up there too).

Back to your QN about how to get into Opera. It is a bit like me asking how to get into "pop". Youtube will have earlier iterations of the operas/music. I'm guessing that your know the story of H&G.

Have you ever done the backstage tours? If you have a costume/dance/theatre-mad teen(ish) with you I thinks they would enjoy them.

Hansel and Gretel is a fabulous opera. Every opera house has a productiion at Christmas and it's packed with families and kids.

Hummable tunes and a great panto style villain in the witch.

I’m glad you went for Cinderella! I think the Magic Flute is perfect first-time opera, and it comes round a lot.

I’ve been to see this production a couple of times - it honestly isn’t that long and there’s an jnterval of reasonable length (as it’s quite a complex scene change). ( Cinderella is a lot longer (and has two intervals)). It is a very visually appealing production; I reckon it’s a decent bet as a first opera.

Personally I don't rate the Magic Flute as a first opera. The leading man is a wet drip, it's all a bit masonic/culty and the end goes on and on and on.

For me the good bits do not make up for this.

For opera they project the translations in English and some seats have mini screens. Length is fine because of intervals.

I'm not an expert opera goer so I stick with mostly the famous Italian ones which are light and pretty.

I grew up in a non-UK slum with illiterate parents and as an adult I adore opera and went often to the ROH when I lived in London. It doesn’t require either intelligence or being a specific social class. All productions not in English are subtitled. Give it a go, though I’m not a fan of the Humperdinck H and G. Check out the Friday Rush which has replaced the cheap day tickets I used to buy.

If you'd like to try opera before committing to the time/cost of going to one in real life, I'd recommend the live screenings (and available recordings) by Teatro alla Scala in Milan, and they only cost 10 euros.

Ooh, fight! For me, it’s the combination of the fantasy-ish setting and the wonderful, accessible music that makes it an obvious choice (and you can have a nice chat about the rampant sexism on the tube home 😁 - I’m always #teamQueen)

Yes, only in some ways they’re a weird intro for newbies — I’ll be the first to admit that I came very late to them (as was living in London and just went to the ROH and ENO a lot), but now that I no longer live close to an opera house, I find the close-ups discombobulating (I spent part of a recent, very good Madame Butterfly from the Met thinking about the soprano’s fillings!) and think that I doubt I’d have fallen for opera if I hadn’t heard it live.

I took my toddler to a child-friendly abridged Magic Flute in Leicester about ten years ago and he outshrieked the Queen of the Night and had to be removed promptly. I’m not sure my liking for it has quite recovered.

If anybody stumbles onto this thread looking for "beginner ballet", I can recommend the English National Ballet's "My First Ballet" that seem to run most years at the Peacock Theatre. The typical audience is (grand)parents and under 8's (many of the latter in fairy dresses or tutus).

Hiya,
Just wondering if anyone could advise…was it silly of me to book standing tickets for Alice in Wonderland this June? I’m taking my 7-year-old daughter, and I’m worried she might not be able to see much. She’s never been to a ballet before, and I’m not sure if she’ll enjoy it, which is why I went for the cheaper tickets. Would love to hear any thoughts!